New Programs Mix
Videos With Family
From 17th Century
Amateur genealogists for years have been using computer software to make family trees. Now, some of the latest programs go beyond pedigree charts to let you create multimedia albums, with digital photos and video of your clan that you can share with relatives.
It's the genealogical equivalent of the paperless office -- the idea that you can digitize birth certificates and other documents, add photos and put together a comprehensive historical record of your family on your hard drive or online.
The main genealogy software makers have made progress toward this vision since we last reviewed their programs a few years ago. But -- as with the paperless office -- there's still room for improvement.
I have been testing Family Tree Maker and a few rivals, including Personal Ancestral File by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and Wholly Genes Inc.'s the Master Genealogist. Family Tree Maker is by far the No. 1 genealogy program in terms of sales -- for good reason.
Riverdeep released a new version of its program last month. The software is developed by MyFamily.com Inc. of Provo, Utah, and published by Riverdeep Group PLC of Dublin, Ireland. Family Tree Maker Version 11 has a suggested retail price of $49.99 to $99.99, depending on how many genealogical databases you order.
I'm impressed by how easy it is to create family trees. But I'm disappointed that the multimedia elements aren't more tightly woven into them. And even with access to a number of online databases, it was hard to find good information.
To test the programs, I created a family tree from scratch. Then, I worked with family data my father, a genealogy buff, had entered into his computer, involving ancestors as far back as the 1600s. I spruced it up with photos and video, and shared it with him online.
When you create a new file, Family Tree Maker asks you to fill in some basic details about yourself, your parents and your grandparents. It then searches its online databases for other information to fill out your family tree, grading with a star system the information it thinks is most useful. I had some technical problems with this step, but after a series of consultations with MyFamily.com's support team, it worked. In my case, the online data, most of which cost extra subscription fees, included a large amount of irrelevant records.
On the whole, Family Tree Maker is simple to use. The developers have thought through many possibilities of ethnic and religious background -- providing, for example, places to enter a relative's caste or excommunication date. One particularly well-designed function gives you letters to print out to request information from public-records bureaus, and instructions on where to send them.
You can create a Scrapbook linked to each individual's file to hold digital photos, video and other related documents. It also lets you show a picture of people alongside their entry on the family tree.
The software had problems playing a standard digital video file I inserted into my father's Scrapbook, and MyFamily.com's support team didn't resolve them. I wish the Scrapbook were more integrated with the rest of the program so you could, for example, link photos of a wedding directly to the marriage details. One nice feature does allow you to attach a picture to each information source you list.
Family Tree Maker lets you easily make Web pages, but only on MyFamily.com's online genealogy site. And you have to sign away rights to most information you upload. But you can create nice custom printout books on your family.
For those who just want to enter genealogical data somewhere, Personal Ancestral File offers a competent alternative. And it's free of charge. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints lets you download it from the Web at
www.familysearch.org.It doesn't have the same depth of features as Family Tree Maker. Rather, it focuses more on a family-tree chart and individuals' data than on broader family history. Still, it accepts photos and video much like Family Tree Maker.
What it does, it does well. The pedigree-chart view employs a clever technique for hiding an individual's data until you move the cursor over the name, making it easier to fit more people on the screen. Using a link in the program, I downloaded information about an ancestor who died in Normandy, France, in 1677.
The Master Genealogist -- from Wholly Genes, of Columbia, Md., a 10-year-old company specializing in family-history software -- says it's for use by professional genealogists in addition to amateurs. I tested version 5.0, available for download on its Web site (
www.whollygenes.com). You can try it for free or pay $79 to buy it online, though the site says the version currently available lacks some functions planned for a final edition.
The Master Genealogist has some advanced features, such as the ability to catalog sources of information and to rate reliability. But I found it hard to navigate. Its multimedia functions are similar to those of the other programs.
The technical glitches and uneven quality of online data diminished my enthusiasm for Family Tree Maker. Still, it's the easiest to use of the software I tested, and has some excellent features.
新软件让你与老祖先面对面
多年来，对家谱进行业余研究的学者们一直采用电脑软件来绘制家谱图。目前，一些最新的软件不仅能绘图，还能帮你创建含有数码照片和录像的家族多媒体相册，让你与亲朋好友一道分享。
这好比无纸化办公──你可以把出生证和其他文件数字化，并添加照片，把完整的家族史放在硬盘里或互联网上。
几年前，我们曾报导过此类软件。期间，生产家谱绘制软件的制造商们在无纸化方面取得了一定的进展。不过，正如无纸化办公并非十全十美一样，此类软件仍有改进的余地。
我对Family Tree Maker和其他一些类似的竞争软件，如由耶稣基督后期圣徒教会(the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints)生产的Personal Ancestral File和Wholly Genes Inc.的Master Genealogist进行了测试。从销量上看，Family Tree Maker是到目前为止最好的家谱绘制软件。
Riverdeep上个月推出了Family Tree Maker的新版本。该软件是由位于犹他州的MyFamily.com1 Inc研制，并由位于爱尔兰都柏林的Riverdeep Group PLC发行的。根据定购的家谱数据库数量的多少，这款Family Tree Maker第十一版的建议零售价在49.99至99.99美元之间。
根据这款软件来绘制家谱真是很容易。但令人失望的是，其中的多媒体功能并未配合软件发挥很大作用。即便能进入一些网上数据库，也难以找到有用的信息。
为了进行测试，我从头开始创建了一个家谱图。随后，我将父亲电脑中的家族信息进行加工整理，其中最早的资料可追溯到十七世纪。我还添加了照片和录像，把信息放在网上与父亲共享。我父亲是个家谱研究迷。
当你创建一个新文件时，Family Tree Maker会让你填写一些关于你个人、父母和祖父母的基本信息。随后，它会在自身的网上数据库内搜索相关信息，使家谱图的信息更完整，并用星级制把最有用的信息标识出来。我在这个步骤上碰到了一些技术问题，但在讨教了MyFamily.com的技术支持小组后，问题迎刃而解。我发现，那些网上的信息有许多是毫不相干的，但绝大部份还要收取额外的费用。
总的来说，Family Tree Maker操作简便。该软件的研制者们充份考虑到了各种涉及伦理和宗教的背景情况。例如，它让作者提供亲友的社会阶层或被逐出教会的日期。一项特别好的功能是它可以向公共档案信息管理机构出具索求信，并告诉你发信地址。
你还可以为每个人创建与他个人文档相连的剪贴簿，用来放置数码照片、录像和其他相关文件。在家谱图上的每个人旁边都有地方放一幅照片。
当我播放父亲剪贴簿里一段标准数码录像时，该软件出了问题，而MyFamily.com的技术支持小组对此也无能为力。我希望剪贴簿能与软件的其他功能更加兼容。举例说，能把婚礼的照片直接与婚礼的具体内容相连。这个软件还有一项不错的功能：你可以在列出的每个信息来源旁摆放一幅照片。
用Family Tree Maker来制作网页也很方便，但只能通过MyFamily.com的网站来制作。此外，你还必须承诺放弃对大部份加载信息的使用权。但你可以编制关于自己家族的精彩书籍。
对于那些只想输入家谱信息的人而言，Personal Ancestral File不失为一个好选择。而且它是免费的。耶稣基督后期圣徒教会允许你从
www.familysearch.org2上下载该软件。
这个软件画出的家谱图也许不能像Family Tree Maker那样可以追溯到家族很遥远的历史。但它把重点放在完善家谱图和个人信息的功能上，而不是家族历史的长短。它也能放置照片和录像。
Personal Ancestral File的功能非常棒。它采用的技术更高明，能够隐藏个人信息，只有当你把鼠标指到某个人时才显露出关于这个人的具体内容。这样，屏幕上就可以清晰显示更多的人。通过该软件的一个链接，我还下载了有关一位在1677年于法国诺曼底逝世的祖先的信息。
来自马里兰州的Wholly Genes是一家只有十年历史的专门研制家族历史的软件生产商。该公司的Master Genealogist声称是同时为专业家谱学者和业余爱好者设计的。我测试了该软件的5.0版，该版本可通过公司网站
www.whollygenes.com3下载。你可以免费试用该软件，或支付79美元在网上订购。不过，公司网站表示，此版本功能并不齐全，公司正计划推出最终版本。
Master Genealogis拥有一些先进的功能，如为信息来源编制目录，并评定信息的可靠性。但我发现它操作起来不大容易。该软件的多媒体功能与其他软件类似。
技术方面的小问题和网上资料质量的参差不齐使我对Family Tree Maker的热情有所减退。不过，它仍是我所测试过的软件中最容易使用且拥有某些非常出色功能的家谱绘制软件。
